Re: [BaadAssGremlins] Re: 77 hornet ball joints

[AMC74HORNET@xxxxxxxxx]

Dan as a personal rule of thumb I always change the upper and lower ball
joints. My brother wouldn't listen to me and do this on his Javelin and
6 months later he had to replace the upper joints and the 2 new tires he
ruined. I use a spring compressor made for AMC and Ford front ends. So I
take the tension off the suspension and  and just remove the spring.
Also with a car this age check the upper and lower control arm bushing.
3 years ago I completely rebuilt the front end in my yellow 74 and last
summer a year ago I did the same with my then recently purchased orange
74. It's was on the pricy side for parts but I won't have to do it again
for many many miles. What may seem my methods a bit extreme I get this
from working in aviation when I was in the Navy. I say do it once, do it
right and forget about it. Good luck and be careful.
"Doc"



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--- Begin Message ---

• From: "Dan M." <vegadan@xxxxxxxxx>
• Date: Wed, 07 Sep 2005 11:24:24 -0000

Thanks, Doc.  I can appreciate the saftey issue.  With the car on jack
stands, and the front suspension hagning down, fully extended, the
spring should remain in place, right?  And with the shock in place, if
by some chance the spring does pop out, then the shock should keep it
contained (?)  Is there a way to chain the spring to the chassis to
keep it in place?  Or, can a length of chain be run across to the
spring on the other side, so that one spring acts against the other?

Thanks,
Dan

--- In BaadAssGremlins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, AMC74HORNET@xxxx wrote:
> A word of serious advice, AMC front end work is not for a novice
first
> timer or amateur. If the spring should pop out it could blind or kill
> you. One of the AMC dealer mechanics that I worked with was blind in
one
> eye from getting hit in the head with a spring that popped out. One
> other thing if you replace the bottom ones also replace the top ones
> unless you know they are almost new, why have to go back in  year or
so
> and have to replace the top ones. I am a retired/disabled
professional
> mechanic and always hated working on AMC & Ford front ends of the
era.
> The Fords were almost the same design as the AMC's and share some of
the
> same parts. I have 71 Ford Torino shocks in my yellow 74 Hornet. Good
> luck and remember safety first. 
> "Doc"



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